Take Five: Gaston Essengue

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 | 7:46 a.m.

A Cameroon native in his first season at UNLV, Gaston Essengue leads UNLV's reserves with a 53.7-percent touch from the field, and he leads all Rebels with 11 blocked shots, four of which he swatted against Southern Utah.

He is becoming an efficient interior role player, at both ends of the court, whom coach Lon Kruger envisions next to Joel Anthony (currently redshirting) next season to form a dynamic inside duo.

"He has been hard on me because he knows I'm in a position to do things," Essengue said of Kruger. "Sometimes, I don't do them. Sometimes, it's too much to think about. I make sure I play hard, and everything else will come."

UNLV junior forward

* Born: Oct. 10, 1983

* Hometown: Yaounde, Cameroon

* Pronunciation: gas-TONE es-SEHN-gay

* Height/weight: 6-feet-8, 225 pounds

* Family: parents Gaston Sr. and Marie Mbeck; brothers George, Alain and Francois

* Resume: Averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for Compton (Calif.) Community College, which won a state title in 2003-04; averaged 15 points and 10 boards at Weatherford (Texas) College last season; played six games for the Cameroon senior national team, led Lylee De Nkol-Eton High to the country's national title in 2002.

1. Huh?

This is Essengue's third season playing ball in America, and he said English has been challenging. Often, he needs to tap a teammate for further explanation out of a Kruger huddle. "I don't get everything," Essengue said. "I have to really pay attention." Spanish is slowly becoming his sixth language.

2. Bongo, anyone?

Essengue said his diet has affected his strength. He mostly misses "bongo" -- a combination of fish, vegetables and a plantain-like fruit -- his mother often prepared. "There's no place to cook in the dorm, so I have to eat what's easy, like fast food," he said. "I don't have a favorite food here."

3. Thanks, George

His three older brothers all work in Germany. George, 36, is employed by Lufthansa Airlines and was most influential in arranging for Gaston to further his basketball skills and education in the United States. Alain, 28, played two years of professional basketball in Germany. "I want to still be playing pro basketball when I'm 30," Gaston said.

4. Hoop hopes

Gaston Sr., the patriarch of the family, served as a provincial governor in Cameroon for 14 years, but Junior has no taste for politics. "Politics can hurt people," Essengue said. "You can really fall down bad within a government, if the government falls down. I want to teach basketball some day. You think you really know basketball. But, here, I learn every day."

5. No World Cup, no worries

Essengue, who headed the basketball eight times in a row during warm-ups before Saturday's game, isn't disappointed that Cameroon did not qualify for the next soccer World Cup. "I was happy," he said. The nation's basketball, handball and volleyball teams haven't received proper attention or financing. "It's not supposed to be like that," Essengue said. "Now, the government will think differently."